All My Love
by Bad Day at Black Rock
Summary: The new Winchester is in town and he's pretty popular.  Can he mend a broken soul?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This fic is part of a series based on the episodes of Supernatural. The characters and plots belong to the creator and writers for the show.

All My Love

The uncomfortable pain had woken her up almost two hours ago. She wasn't quite sure they were contractions; her due date wasn't for two weeks. As per instructions from her doctor, she had timed the pains for an hour, to look for consistency and if they were getting closer together. By the end of the hour they were about eight minutes apart. She called the hospital, and they told her to come in even if she just thought she was in labor. Dean was still sleeping soundly at this point and her water hadn't broken, which meant there was still time.

Kayla took a shower, because she knew if it was labor they would be in the hospital for awhile. She moved quietly around the room to get a small bag packed, for herself and for Dean in case he was too stubborn to go home. Dean stubborn, like that would happen. Finally she decided to wake him, the supposed contractions were down to five minutes apart.

"Dean, we gotta go."

He barely stirred from his sleep.

She paused to let another contraction pass, then went to the bed and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, baby."

"Hmm." His eyes didn't open.

"We gotta go." There was no urgency in her voice.

"Where?"

"The hospital, it's time to go."

Another few moments passed with nothing said and suddenly Dean pushed out of bed. "Like, _that_ time?"

She nodded.

"Holy shit." He was up and across the room in an instant, pulling clothes on in a hurry as he muttered incoherently under his breath.

"Dean." She stopped him as he breezed by and put her hands on either side of his face. "Calm down." She was the one who should be panicking.

"Right." He took a breath but was still on edge. "We're two weeks early. We gotta get a bag packed, we gotta…"

"Everything is sitting by the door." He looked confused. "I didn't want to wake you up until everything was ready." Labor could take hours, even days according to her doctors. She didn't see any reason to rush to the hospital; there was nothing to do there but hurry up and wait. They had plenty of time.

He seemed to calm down then and he grabbed her jacket out of the closet. "Alright Ms. Do it Yourselfer…you're in labor, why don't you let me take things from here?"

"Yes sir." She laughed and pulled her jacket on. "But I don't know if it's really labor…it could be that false labor."

"We're pretty damn close for false labor. How far apart are your contractions?"

"Five minutes, roughly."

"That's good, right? Right about time to go then."

"Exactly."

He drove quickly but she wasn't freaking out so he still stopped at the traffic signals. It was so surreal to think the day was already here; it didn't seem that long ago when she'd told him the news. Hell, what was he gonna do? He's about to be a father, Dean Winchester, son of a misguided hunter. It was going to take a lot not to screw this up. Most people had to put a little effort into being _good_ parents, he was going to have to put a whole lot of effort into just being a decent one.

"Dean, you want me to drive?"

"What?" He looked over at her, then realized that the light was green. "Sorry."

"You just woke up, you sure you're okay?"

"Oh I'm awake, trust me." He shook his head. "Just processing."

"Dean?"

He gave her a look; she was still worried about him. He needed to pull it together. "Are they getting closer?"

"I don't think so."

He smirked. "You ready for this?"

"No." She laughed. "But I guess it's not really a choice anymore huh?"

"Yeah not really." He paused. "What if he hates me?"

"Dean."

"I'm serious!"

"He's not going to hate you. He's going to absolutely adore you, just like everyone else who really knows you."

"You don't know that."

"Well you know, kids are easily bribed too."

He laughed. "There's always that. I can bribe the hell outta someone."

"It's gonna be okay." She assured him.

He hoped she was right; she had to be. He couldn't be the father that John was, he couldn't let him grow up like that. He wouldn't drag him all over the country training him to kill or be killed, hell, he couldn't. His son would know his father's priorities started with him.


	2. Chapter 2

She had insisted on staying with him until he parked the car and walked with him into the lobby of the ER. The entire time she kept insisting that she was fine, that there was no reason to panic, and that they had plenty of time. There was no reason to stress out the baby, or his father for that matter.

"Hey." Dean spoke to the woman behind the desk. "Excuse me, she's in labor."

The nurse eyed her calm disposition. "Are you sure?"

Kayla gave her a look. "What?"

"I'm sorry, it's just…how far apart are your contractions?"

"Three minutes." She inhaled quietly and touched her stomach, then checked the time. "Make that two and a half."

She paged for another nurse. "They'll be right here with a wheelchair mam. Can I get your name?"

"Kayla Michelson."

"And are you registered here for the birth?" She typed into the computer.

"Yes."

The nurse found her in the system. "Everything is in order then."

Dean had been watching her for any signs of stress. "You okay? You good?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "I'm fine."

"They're gonna get you some good drugs once the pain kicks in."

"Once it kicks in?" She thought it had kicked in, of course she would imagine it was going to get worse; it was pretty manageable so far.

A nurse with a wheelchair showed up and took them to a room where _another _nurse came in to 'evaluate the situation'.

"You're nine centimeters dilated." She told her after the exam, there was a note of surprise in her voice.

"Is that…good? I mean, I know what dilated means, but, what does that mean?"

"It means the baby is coming. Now."

"Oh."

Dean watched Kayla's face and saw her tense, all at once he understood what was happening. The nurses hadn't been in a hurry, or panicked because someone that was about to pop out a baby was distressed and showing signs of pain. Kayla was calm and collected. She was tolerating the pain because she'd had worse.

The nurse had apparently decided Kayla was a little tougher than she looked. "Sweetheart, on a scale of one through ten, one being no pain, and ten being the worst pain you can think of, how's your pain?"

She looked at Dean before she answered and tried not to laugh in spite of the situation. "Well, during a contraction, I guess it's about a five." Even that was a lie, when comparing it to the worst pain she could think of, this was more like a two.

"That's good, considering how close you are." The nurse told her. "We're moving you into a delivery room right away, but you're not going to be able to have an epidural. The delivery is too close and it would be dangerous for the baby."

Kayla paused to let another contraction pass. "Well we can't do that now can we?"

She smiled sympathetically. "Had you planned on a natural childbirth?"

"No, I signed for the epidural." With a smirk, she looked back to Dean. "But I guess he's impatient, imagine that."

"I'm going to make sure the room is ready." She smiled and left the room.

"Not to put a negative spin on things," Kayla started. "But in that class Shannon took me to, they said we should be prepared for the worst pain we've ever experienced. I was terrified. Speaking of Shannon, I was supposed to call her…"

"She'll get over it." He slipped his hand over hers. "Do me a favor."

"Hmm?"

"For the love of God, let me take care of you."

She laughed. "What are you talking about?"

"This isn't about me being panicked, or Shannon being pissed that you didn't call, or whatever else you can think of in the next thirty seconds. You're about to have a baby, and hunter or not, it's a big deal. There's that whole, bringing a new life into the world, there's going to be recovery time…"

"I'll be okay." She told him.

"I know you will. Because I'm gonna take care of you, whether you like it or not." He kissed her on the forehead.

The nurse returned, ready to move her into the delivery room.

Dean wasn't sure if time sped up or slowed down after that. Everything sort of blended together as the nurses rushed around trying to get ready, and the doctor showed up to start coaching her through the birth. Everyone around her was coddling her, telling her it wouldn't be long, telling her how the hard part wasn't over. Everyone was freaking out except Kayla herself, who took all of it like a veteran. She listened to the doctor with concern in her eyes; his word was gospel at that point.

Before he knew it, a quiet cry filled the room and Dean could hardly determine his own reality. All at once time stopped as the doctor handed him the tiny squirming package, and he pulled the blanket away from his face. Instantly the baby stopped crying as his big blue eyes bore a path straight through his very core. "He's got your eyes." Dean murmured. He gave an incredulous laugh. "I think he's sizing me up."

Kayla laughed quietly. "That I believe."

"Ah man." Dean tried to gather himself but he couldn't keep the tears from his eyes. "Welcome to the family little guy." He brought him over to Kayla, who practically glowed as he set him in her arms.

She could hardly speak as she looked at him, memorizing every detail of his tiny face. "He's perfect, how'd we pull that off?"

"I know, we're pretty damn talented." He kissed her softly. "You did great babe."

Dean leaned in to see him again and couldn't wipe the smile from his face. There he was, his son, the picture of innocence. It felt like a part of him was made whole again; like everything he'd had to go through to get to this point was worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

The distantly familiar sound of wings actually made him smile, but he didn't look up. "Hey Cas."

"I came as soon as I was able, I don't have much time."

"You beat everyone else." He glanced up from the baby, but only for a moment. "It's good to see you."

He stepped towards them, reading the look on Dean's face. "It's unusual to see you so enthralled with something."

He smirked. "He's just been staring at me. Probably trying to figure out why I've been staring at him." He looked at Kayla, who was getting some much needed rest. If Cas wasn't going to stick around she'd be pissed if he didn't wake her up. They hadn't seen him in a long time. Dean stood slowly, convinced that the tiny child in his arms could shatter at any moment. "Kayla." He touched her hand. "You've got a visitor."

Her eyes opened slightly and she took a moment to realize she was still in the hospital.

"Cas?" She sounded surprised, and looked it when she saw him. "Well hey stranger, you look different."

He smiled and it looked uncomfortable on him. "It hasn't been that long."

But he had changed and there was definitely something familiar about his demeanor. It reminded her of when he first started talking with them; he'd obviously been spending all his time in heaven. "By your standards, I guess not." She smiled at the baby. "How's he been?"

"Perfect. Hasn't made a peep." Dean smiled. "I told you I got this." He leaned forward to hand him to her.

"Hey little man." She cooed. "Did you get to talk to your daddy? You better come give me a hug Cas, I'm kind of strapped down." She showed him the IV in her arm. "I finally got the good stuff, Dean talked me into it."

"Because you don't _have _to be in pain, even if it's just a little."

"I can heal you." Castiel offered.

"Ah, let's not." She laughed. "Not while I'm in the hospital, there'd be a hell of a lot of explaining to do."

Apparently he hadn't been gone long enough to forget not to argue with her. He crossed the room and hugged her, then something on the baby caught his eye. He lifted the band around his wrist. "My name is on this."

Kayla glanced to Dean, then back to Cas for his reaction. "I was kind of hoping you would share." She asked, and motioned to the tag. "That's his name. Alexander Castiel Winchester."

Confusion was absolutely familiar on him. He furrowed his brow and just looked between them a moment. "I don't understand."

"As far as respectable namesakes, well, you're a pretty good one."

Dean shrugged. "You said yourself, you gave everything for us. We owe you a lot."

"You owe me nothing. I…I'm honored." He stammered. "I'm not accustomed to this kind of…experience. May I?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"I won't drop him, if that's what you're afraid of."

"I didn't think you would. Dean wouldn't let you." She carefully slid him into Castiel's arms.

Dean watched him like a hawk, though he knew he didn't have to. Cas was about the only other person in existence he trusted with his family.

"Alexander." Cas repeated as he studied him. "It's Greek, meaning 'defender of man'."

"We know." Dean mentioned. "It's in his blood."

"It's fascinating, the possibilities. Do you wonder about the man he'll become?"

"I think we're gonna take it a little slower." Dean smirked.

Cas smiled, this time a little more comfortably. "Congratulations. He's a lucky child, to have the parents he has."

"We thought so." Kayla agreed with a smile; he looked positively human holding Alex. Cas already adored him as much as they did.

"No fair!" A small voice squealed from the door. "Mommy you said I could be first!"

They turned and saw Katie and Shannon, who shrugged. "We were too late sweetheart, what can I say?" She moved in on the baby, immediately causing Cas to tense. "Aww look at him! He's adorable, and so alert for a newborn!"

"Cas, this is Shannon. Shannon…"

"Castiel!" She stated excitedly, as she did most things. "The namesake, of course. That's awesome you could make it."

He looked to Dean and Kayla for help; it took him a lot of time to get comfortable with them and it certainly didn't make him comfortable with strangers. "I should go."

"Right, busy with work and all." Kayla suggested. "But you'll come back soon right? To visit."

He nodded and gave Alex to Dean. "I will."

"You remember where you parked?" Dean asked, really just to remind him to use the door when he left.

"Um, yes." He answered awkwardly and slipped out the door.

"Aren't you so cute." Shannon cooed and swayed they baby softly. "Just like your namesake, yes you are, good Lord is he single?"

"_You_ aren't." Kayla reminded her.

"I can look."

"I wanna hold him mommy! Right now!" She demanded.

"Sit down in the chair before you do." Kayla stated quickly. "Sweetheart." She added, a little more softly.

Dean paced slightly next to the bed but Kayla touched his hand. It didn't bother him to have the kid hold him; he just wasn't ready _not_ to hold him yet. He supposed there would be more than enough time. As he was wandering through the hospital he saw it was pretty typical for the newborns to be passed around like a bowl of popcorn. Just as long as they knew who he belonged to. He saw Kayla watching him and offered her a smile.

"You holding up?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "Perfect."


	4. Chapter 4

"So that's the new Winchester." Bobby came up behind Dean at the nursery window. "He's kind of puny, I kind of expected him to come out six foot tall with a sawed off shotgun."

Dean smiled. "Give him a couple years at least. Thanks for coming."

"You kidding? I wouldn't miss this for the world."

"They're just bringing him back out."

"How's Kayla?"

"Tired, but great. She'll be excited to see you now that we got rid of the neighbors." He watched a nurse roll Alex's car out and she checked the wristbands to make sure they matched. "He's mine, I promise." Dean winked.

The nurse rolled her eyes and went back into the nursery.

Bobby leaned down, examining him like he would a firearm. "Looks like a Winchester." He took his phone out of his pocket.

"Bobby. Picture?" He asked, surprised.

"Well hell I've already been labeled Grandpa, I think that gives me photography rights. You gonna hold him so he's in the light?"

Dean gladly scooped up the little bundle and grinned for a picture. "Alright grandpa, grab the cart." He led them back to Kayla's room, where she lay absently flipping channels on the TV.

"Bobby! You made it." She was much happier to see him than the neighbors and Dean's work buddies.

"Well you caught me in-between hunts." He walked over and gave her a hug, lowering his voice. "Between you and me, I've kind of been hanging around the house with it being so close to the due date."

"He already took pictures." Dean told her.

"Aww…"

"Yeah yeah. So he's already had a barrage of admirers?"

Dean smirked. "Of course. All the civilians showed, Cas too."

"Well a little birdy told me that the Harvelle's are coming in. Probably won't be here until tomorrow."

"Wow. Talk about a reunion." Dean tried not to let his mind wander; he was kind of enjoying being ridiculously happy about something. "Here man."

Bobby stepped back. "I don't want to drop the kid, he just got here."

"Ah come on." He held him out. "How can you say no to that face?"

That pretty much did him in. Even the hardest hunters have soft spots. They gave Bobby the keys to the house and convinced him to spend the night, which was more than Kayla could say for Dean. He refused to leave the hospital. Alex spent no more than a few minutes at a time in the nursery, even if he was asleep. Between the two parents, he was hardly put down.

It was past midnight when Cas showed back up; Dean was sitting in the small loveseat in the corner of the room while Alex slept soundly in his arms.

"Dean."

He looked up, then glanced to Kayla who had finally gotten to sleep again. The baby stirred slightly and he motioned Cas into the hall.

"You don't have to wake her, I just wanted to make sure this is what you want."

He gave him a look. "Excuse me?"

Cas sighed. "Perhaps my phrasing is incorrect. This," he motioned to the baby. "And Kayla, you're not hunting, but, it's what you want."

"Yeah, Cas, why? What's up?"

His eyes had a story but it wasn't one he was going to share. "Nothing."

"You don't need help up there do you?"

"No."

He tried not to raise his voice because Alex still slept in his arms. "Then why the sudden concern with my happiness?"

"I just know it must be hard, in this time of celebration, not to be able to share it with your brother."

Leave it to Cas to bring up the one thing he spent all day trying not to think about. No sense in keeping it up now. "Yeah, it friggen sucks. Thank you."

"But it's what he wanted." His tone was off, like he was trying to convince himself at the same time. "It's what he asked for."

He just looked at him a moment. "I think you been spending a little bit too much time upstairs, you know what I'm saying? Look, now that you've decided to grace us with your presence again, Kayla really does expect you to visit. Often. So you better come by the house in a few days."

He nodded.

"Try not to have this little pep talk with her huh?"

"I won't." She asked more questions than Dean did.

"I mean it. Cas, focus."

He looked at him.

"Don't talk to her about him. Okay? If you can't handle that, don't show up."

He had that look to him; like there was something just on the tip of his tongue, waiting to burst out, but Cas disappeared. Guess that answered that. It was just as well. The last thing they needed right now was to make this into a grieving process. This wasn't about Sam, it was about Alex.


	5. Chapter 5

After two straight days of word-of-mouth visitors, Kayla realized she hadn't adapted as well in to this lifestyle as she thought. She was glad so many people were thoughtful enough to come by the hospital, and she wasn't ungrateful, but she would rather have it be just her and Dean. Bobby was okay too, he was practically family. That kind of thing is normal though, right? Or was it hunter? She didn't know. All she knew is that as they drove back towards the house, they still had one more social experience to get through before everyone went home. With the discharge being so close, Bobby called Ellen and Jo and told them to meet him at the house.

Dean had never driven the Impala so carefully in his life and he finally made it into the driveway. He hopped out quickly and went around to open her door. "You good?"

"Yeah." She smiled weakly.

"Well look what the cat dragged in." Ellen chuckled from the doorway.

"Hey." Dean offered her a half-wave before going to the back and slinging the bags over one shoulder, then going to the other side for the baby carrier.

"Bobby, get out here and help him." She called inside.

"I can take the baby…" Kayla offered.

"I got it!" He insisted. "It's like twenty steps to the door come on."

"Hey Ellen." Kayla smiled as they went inside.

Dean pulled out the carrier and shut the door. "You can't slap me with a friendly greeting this time, holding a baby."

"Yeah I'll have to admit," she said. "It's not something I ever expected to see."

"Let me see him!" Jo cooed in excitement and took the baby carrier. "Hi Alex, hey baby." She set it on the table and unbuckled him.

Dean eased his defenses down and set the bags near the stairs.

"This is a nice place you got here guys." Ellen told him.

"Thanks," Dean smirked and grabbed a bottled water from the refrigerator, then handed it to Kayla. "I can't really take any credit."

"Yeah the 'man cave' is awesome." Jo agreed. "Epic."

Kayla hovered around the crowd. "Can I get you guys anything?"

"No no sweetie, sit down. Take it easy." Ellen shook her head and cleared her a spot on the couch. "No need to treat us like guests, we'll just intrude."

She laughed quietly. "It's good to see you two, it's been awhile."

"No kidding. Jo, give me that baby." She walked over and gently took the baby from her, smiling softly as she got a better look. "Geez he's gorgeous."

"Naturally." Dean agreed.

Jo rolled her eyes. "I got him a present." She grabbed the baby blue bag from the table and handed it to him.

Dean looked at it uncomfortably; this was usually Kayla's thing. Still, he sifted through the paper and pulled out a tiny piece of clothing. He unfolded it and laughed. "Look baby, a Zeppelin onesie."

Kayla smiled. "Wonderful." She was more focused on Jo; who was trying so hard to smile. She knew that look; the look of lost love. Of course she wouldn't bring up Dominic, because then they'd have to bring up Sam. They were just a mess with a whole list of misery they tried to avoid.

The Harvelle's didn't stay too long; all of them weren't entirely comfortable around each other. There was still so many unaddressed issues, so many ancient grudges they wouldn't talk about. Dean was surprised they came by in the first place. Bobby stayed a little longer, making sure they were comfortable and had everything they needed before he took off for home. Then it was just them: the new family.

Kayla fell in love with Dean again in the next few days, and in an entirely new way. She loved watching him with the baby. He looked at him with such pure, unbridled adoration and did everything he could to be a part of everything he was. When he woke at all hours of the night, Kayla was never alone to tend to him. Dean even took an undetermined amount of time off work to be home during the adjustment period.

But the thing about infants; they sleep a lot. With as much help as she was getting from Dean, Kayla wasn't losing sleep either and there was a lot of down time. They spent it together, but he began to get that distant look in his eyes. She thought maybe it could have been too much down time, too much time to think about the things he didn't want to think about. Regardless, it drove her anxiety level through the roof and she encouraged him to get back into the swing of things. She talked him into going back to work, and things got better, for awhile.

Cas held to his word of coming around the house. Once a week he came by, on the weekend when Dean would be home. He never stayed for long; he always seemed uncomfortable. Whenever she tried to ask him about it, he always had to leave. There was something going on, something he didn't want to talk to them about. Whatever it was, Kayla was too afraid to push him. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.


End file.
